All the Things I Love- Pole, Sun, Friends & Food

So this weekend ended up being extremely random but awesome nonetheless! There were new foods (I really am a sucker for trying new recipes), amazing friends and good old fashion a wrestling fight with some vines 😉

I didn’t intend to be overly active this past weekend, but somehow I managed not to be too lazy! I’ve been fighting away a cold all week, so I thought that some good old fashion rest was in store to kick in the butt. I guess rest and I have different ideas..

Friday night I took a Pilates class taught by my client Megan, and I brought my mom. I always under estimate Pilates, thinking it’s not “too hard”. But the problem is, that it works all those little things that I never (but totally should!) spend time on. And truthfully, it kicks my butt.

No Friday would be complete though without a few indulgent trials :). I made both stuffed zucchini (those of you who know me know my obsession with zucchini!!!) and protein pumpkin cupcakes (complete with icing). While I already knew I’d love the zucchini, the cupcakes were freaking awesome! I can’t explain that I didn’t think the combination would be that great but even my mom had one.. and wanted more. Who knew that vanilla protein powder, cinnamon and some water makes the best icing ever!! Seriously, there was a bit leftover at the bottom of the bowl and I mixed in a bunch of blueberries and ate it straight. It was drool worthy.

Saturday got me started with an early more teaching session followed by my own pole practice with a friend. While we normally work specifically on tricks, we’ve been adding in more and more combos- it’s hard as hell. For some reason I thought it would be an awesome idea to see how many tricks I could do without touching the floor (check out the video on my facebook). I managed to get about 1:30 of full on inverts before collapsing on the floor breathless and unattractively gaspy.

To celebrate my gaspy-ness, I immediately went to the garden store to get my vegetables for this year!!! This is so exciting. I still have to get yellow peppers (they aren’t out yet… I don’t really know why) but I got: zucchini (obviously), broccoli, cherry tomatoes, big tomatoes, red peppers, spaghetti squash, watermelon, parsley and basil. I’ve never done watermelon before so I hope it turns out.

Saturday night ended up being the most perfect night for a fire with our neighbors (and the pup!!) and a few homemade watermelon, strawberry daiquiris (so yummy). I was actually quite proud of my creative blending skills- we ended up adding blackberries too and the effect was sheer awesomeness. Who needs snacks and munchies when you have super yummy blended fruit!? Oh, I might have had some fresh coconut too, because let’s be honest, I almost always have a fresh coconut stash.

By the time Sunday rolled around, I was a bit tired, but somehow relaxation was not an option! After doing my weekly food prep- which by the way I’m trying to make these chickpea burgers this week and god they looked good when I prepped them. I’ll keep you posted as to how they turn out!- we got to work landscaping.

Now, I really wish I had a picture of this- in our back yard there are two muskoka chairs that have been covered/abducted by vines for the last 5 years. I decided to get rid of all those stupid vines and retrieve said chairs. It was war. If you ever want to hold someone captive for eternity, grow vines around them. Seriously. You can’t pull them out. Watching me try would have been hilarious. There was dirt flying everywhere. I had garden sheers, gloves and flip flops (this was probably not a great combo). Jackie was laughing his butt off at me as he mowed the lawn because I was getting so angry! I ended up getting the chairs and tidying it up (after three hours I might add). Jesus a lawn is never finished. But there were improvements made.

After which, my best friend invited us to watch the game at her place and grill up some steaks and veggies- so unbelievably good! So it was a perfect end to a great weekend. Did I indulge? You bet! But I also worked my butt off and spent time with some great friends.

Overall it was a well balanced weekend, which is the most important part. Never think that it has to be one or the other (super healthy or super indulgent). If you’re friends are actually that, friends, they’ll understand that you may not eat everything placed in front of you. You can still have a good time and wake up feeling amazing, it just takes some mental sense.